The snootier variety of north Londoner has a well known penchant for making disparaging remarks about not daring to go "south of the river".

The idea among these snobs is that south London lacks some of the sophistication of the north of the capital, which they contend is a paradise of ciabattas and cappuccinos.

So, news today that a scientist has named a desolate crater on Mars after Tooting, south London, may not do a lot to lessen the prejudice of the south-bashers.

The man responsible for the crater naming is Nasa planetary expert Pete Mouginis-Mark, who is originally from Tooting, and said the 17.4-mile crater reminded him of home. He said: "I named the crater Tooting because I thought my mum and brother would get a kick out of having their home town paired with a land form on Mars."

Mr Mouginis-Mark, who lived in south London until 1970, discovered the feature in September and applied to the International Astronomical Union to register the name.

The scientist, who is acting director of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, hopes the title of the crater will be officially adopted. If it is, Tooting would join a range of British places which have lent their names to Martian craters, including Maidstone, Crewe, Corby, Swanage, Bentham, Cray, Downe and Ellsley.

Local Labour MP Sadiq Khan was far from worried that being connected with a Mars crater could hurt south London's reputation. He said: "For those of us who live in Tooting, it is confirmation of what we have always known, which is that Tooting is the centre of the universe."